Authors note: I want to thank you all for reviewing and reading the last chapter. Hearing your opinions means a lot and they also help if I need to edit or make something better.
Any way I hope you all enjoy this chapter where we will find out how Elsa may react and what she will do now that she has seen Hans human form. So please sit back, relax, enjoy a good read and please leave a review when done, opinions are most welcomed.
Up and early, that was what happened the next day as Elsa was forced out of bed by the will o wisps, the little fairy lights were told by Hans to get her up as he was taking her to see the Fateweavers.
Exited, even a little scared Elsa got ready, as she tied on the laces of her shoes she noticed a book on the ground, curious Elsa walked over and picked it up, looking over it as she wondered how it got there before her eyes widen as she remembered.
"Yes, this was the book I took from Hans room, must have brought it with me by mistake" though Elsa as she looked over it, it was a red book with gold fire motifs. Stroking it a bit Elsa debated on whether to look or not before curiosity got too much and she opened the book reading the tittle which said "The history of the Phoenix"
"So they have a book about them" though Elsa as she remembered that Hans had mentioned that there had been other Phoenixes before him, but of course they all died before him as there could only be one Phoenix/Firebird in existence at a time.
"Wonder about the others" though Elsa as she moved a page or two before reading the first entry which had no picture to accompany:
"The first phoenix, He or she has no name, the story of how he or she came to be is rather ambiguous, but it is suggested that it is strongly connected to Christianity as one of the stories claims that the Phoenix was born from the ashes of the garden of Eden after it was destroyed by the angel after Adam and Eve sinned. It's rebirth was to be a sign of hope for humanities redemption"
"Wonder who was the first one" though Elsa with wonder before she turned the page.
The next showed an egyptian man, he had dark skin, bald head, wore white, his blue eyes were decorated and wore a linen tunic of sorts, a sash around his waist and a gold headdress.
His text read:
"Bak, he became the second Phoenix. He was an Egyptian man, a royal sculpture maker. He had stolen from his master causing him to be exiled, outside of the exile he regretted what he had done and sought redemption by helping his sickly masters daughter. This of course even though that his master was grateful he was forced to execute Bak as his punishment was that he could never return. On the night before his execution his cell burned and there was no sign of Bak, he had become the Phoenix/Firebird"
"He changed his life around" said Elsa, she did not know much about Bak, but she held admiration as it was never an easy task to change ones life around.
Turning the page she found starring at a chinese girl, she was pretty, black hair done nicely with jewels and dark eyes, wore a Chinese silk dress of red and gold. Her writting said
"Feinya: A Chinese girl who became the third Phoenix in existence. She by all accounts was not a good daughter. She would never listen to her father or do the things woman traditionally did at that time. When she was supposed to look after her baby brother whom she hated. She did not watch him and it lead the poor baby boy to be kidnapped. Horrified she went and saved her baby brother on the way back the experienced changed her as she grew to love him. Sadly before they got home they ran into a blizzard seeing no shelter she made the ultimate sacrifice, she took off all her clothes and bundled her brother in them before laying on top of him shielding him from the wind. When they were found they only found the baby with his sisters clothes and a bird... she had changed into the Phoenix"
"How sad" though Elsa but despite it she respected her for its not everybody who would give up their life for their sibbling... she only knew one other person... her own sister...
She moved the page, it was another, the boy had light strawberry blond hair, brown eyes and freckles, wore a shirt with a vest and some shining pieces of armor on his shoulders, arms and legs. He looked happy even though his begining did not read that way.
"Aled was a boy from a Welsh town long since forgotten, he did not have a great start in life as he was born into a family of thieves. When it was his turn to steal he stole a necklace from a powerful sorcerer. Regretting it because of his conscious he went to give it back, sadly his family killed him as they wanted to sell the necklace for riches and threw his body away. The sorcerer having seen it all saved the boy by performing a true form spell which changed the boy to his true form... the Phoenix".
"Its not always easy to do the right thing, glad he did" though Elsa as she smiled a bit then touched the page before turning it.
In it showed an indian prince, dressed in the finest robes money could buy. Not like the others who had come from more humble backgrounds. "Wonder whats his story" though Elsa as she read it.
"Mahendra, he was an Indian prince who was very spoiled and selfish. While he ate and drank his people starved. One day he haughty said that he was the center of the universe. Of course this angered many and he became cursed. He became a leper and lost everything, forced to wander the streets he became humble as he saw his peoples suffering. He dedicated the rest of his life helping others to the best of his abilities. At the time of his death he was alone but when he died he found he did not die, by merely was reborn as the Phoenix"
Finishing Elsa began to see the pattern in these stories, "I have to be sure" though Elsa as she moved to the next story.
This one was of another girl, she was dresed in russian clothes which were not worn in years, her hair was put up in a cloth. Her eyes a sparkling blue almost green.
"Svetlana , a Russian girl, she was lazy and stubborn girl. Mostly referred as a wild child. She made fun of others and ruined harvest. As a punishment by her elders she was made to watch fields at night where one night she saw the crops being stolen by a witch. She tried to tell others but they did not believe her so she went off on a journey to prove it. Along the way through helping others she gained humility and kindness. When defeated the witch she went back where she was blamed for what happened and sent to be killed but before she was killed a fire consumed her. Turning her into a bird and she flew off. She had become the Phoenix"
"Seems that my thoughts are correct" though Elsa as all these stories showed one thing, seems that fate always picked people who were redemable to become Phoenix. Which makes sense as the legend of the Phoenix was all about rebirth or rising from the ashes, which brought the question, what did Hans do to be chosen?
Moving the page she frowned when she found that Hans story was not written.
"Strange" though Elsa as she looked through the book only to find something even stranger, there were pages, a lot of pages missing from the book. It was not noticeable at first for you had to look close enough realize the missing pages.
"Why" wondered Elsa for there was no apparent reason for the pages to be removed, so she closed the book and deciding to ask later.
Beautiful, the area was just that, before Elsa had not had a chance to admire it as it was dark, but now she was able to, Hans home was a small coastal Danish home, but of course she knew that it was a trick as inside was as huge and grand as a palace from what she had managed to see.
There were other homes too, there was a country French 17th century home with a beautiful garden, a beautiful stone home with windows and chimneys, they were all small and pretty, but Elsa was sure that inside they were grander than they seem.
As they walked Elsa expected they would walk towards the palace which was on the grounds, but found they were going the opposite way,
"Shouldn't we go that way?" asked Elsa curious as she pointed towards the castle,
"No, we use that to host balls or have guest, we need a lot of room to let everybody in" said Hans as he lead her towards the more forest area in the garden, seems it was for wildlife or something.
Saying nothing else he would stop and look around as if making sure that they were not being followed, which was just as strange as when he made her wear this thick green cloak to make sure if she was seen she would not be recognized.
Walking further into the area they arrived at a large lake full of crystal clear water, whether it was man made or not Elsa was not sure, but it was a beautiful lake nonetheless as it was so clear everything reflected off of it as if the body of water was a giant mirror.
Looking at the lake Hans whispered, the language was strange, non Elsa had ever heard of, though it was beautiful to hear, "Sun bright, bright sun, may your light forvere shine, the path where magic and nature may be revealed to us" he said, not that Elsa understood.
As soon as the words were spoken, even if they were just whispers the words carries on to the wind, the "sun" shone bright and there was a shift, waters splashed as they parted to reveal a magnificent stone stairs.
Turning to face her Hans placed a hand gently unto hers and said "I need you to listen to me carefully, nobody but Fateweavers are allowed in there, but I talked to the other Fateweavers and they gave me permission to allow you in, but you must be cautious, watch your words very careful when speaking, do not speak unless your spoken to or interrupt, bow lowly in their presence but most of all be respectful, be respectful and they will be respectful to you okay?".
Elsa nodded getting even more nervous,
"Its okay, I promise nothing will happen" said Hans as he pulled the hood of his cloak over his head and face, obscuring it, when he wore it Elsa always found herself intimidated as she could not see his face and it in a way reminded her of a executioner or an evil warlock, though she knows he is neither.
"Come on" Hans said before he lead her into the lake and down the stairs, as they walked the way they came in closed behind them but the stairs never flooded, the stairs were long and grand, carved with very beautiful design and the pillars on either side gave it a more grand look as they got to the bottom stair and went down a hall.
Soon they were in a large round room, it had a hole on the top where light was coming from an unknown source, the room itself was entirely made out of marble which was carved in many wonderful designs,had many mosaics for decorations and tapestries hanging from the cealing, in the very center of the room set in a perfect circle were 13 thrones, all of them were the same height, made of the same material, the only differences were the symbols carved on them.
Sitting on said thrones were 12 people Elsa had never seen before, like Hans they all wore cloaks and they were varied in looks and ages, there were three ladies, grandmotherly types, they wore red, blue and green respectively, a much older man who wore sky blue and pointy hat, among others, they looked serious while there were some who looked somewhat more friendly, but still that did nothing to make Elsa feel welcome.
She almost flinched when one of them, a curly blond hair woman with a rough spun cotton dress walked over to Hans and began to speak in the same strange language Hans spoke early, but much louder as she sounded and looked very angry, following her was another woman, this one was much younger than she was, she had bronze skin and dark hair which made her green eyes and dress pop, her cloak was also green with leaf and branch motifs, she joined in on the "conversation" while Hans based on body language was trying to calm them both down.
After having their say they crossed their arms and left to another room, sighting Hans rubbed the back of his neck before turning to Elsa and saying "I apologize about that...",
"Who are they?" asked Elsa,
"Sylvia and Agatha...long story... they want to talk to me in private" said Hans,
"Why?" asked Elsa curious but before Hans could answer one of the other Fateweavers, a long black hair man with flamboyant dressing stepped in and said "Hey Elsa, my name is Marius, looks like you and me are going to be spending the day together", Elsa was going to protest but wisely decided not to as she nodded.
"I will see you later" promised Hans as Elsa was lead away by Marius, she looked back to Hans every now and then as they left.
When Elsa left Hans turned and walked to the side, moving a tapestry to reveal a hallway, said hallway had several rooms such as studies, libraries, training rooms, none of which had doors except the studies.
Walking to the study Hans found Sylvia and Agatha waiting there, they were anything but happy,
"I will be lucky to get out of this alive" though Hans as he closed the door behind him, once that happened Sylvia was the first to speak "WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THE THINGS WHICH ARE GOOD WERE YOU THINKING!?",
"Sylvia" began Hans,
"Don't Sylvia me! You made a vow!" yelled Sylvia,
"I made no such vow Sylvia" said Hans crossing his arms,
"Yes you did! You made a vow of celibacy" said Sylvia,
"I did not! I was 9 years old, too young to even make a vow in the magical community which states that for the vow to be official the person making it must be over 14 years old and must understand what such a thing means, at that time I was neither 14 or even understood what it meant" argued Hans, seeing he was right Sylvia growled and turned away angry.
"That is not what bothers us the most Hans" said Agatha finally speaking "Out of all the women out there, why did it had to be a Solberg?",
"You know we do not pick who we are fated to be with" said Hans,
"I do not care, you know her family killed many in the magical genocide out of greed" said Agatha,
"That was ages ago and Elsa is not like her family, I promise" said Hans,
"You sure your not saying that just because you want her?" said Sylvia with her arms placed on either side of her hips,
"NO! I have been with her for a year, I know the kind of person she is" said Hans,
"So did the other Phoenixes and their all not only dead but caused disasters Hans" said Agatha,
"Its not going to happen to me" said Hans exasperated "I made sure of it",
"You know, if you want to be with her fine! But I hope you know what your doing, because if something happens it will be on you" said Sylvia before leaving angry.
Rubbing his forehead Hans sighted, that was Sylvia, short temper, overprotective, cynical Sylvia, hopefully she will get over it...eventually... so he turned his attention to Agatha who shook her head then asked "You know we care about you right?",
"I know... but I think maybe its time we put the past behind us" said Hans,
"You know what happened to the last Phoenix" said Agatha,
"I know more than anybody, but I am confident that Elsa is not like the other ones and the cycle will not be repeated" said Hans confident,
"Alright, I will trust your judgement, I just pray that you are right" said Agatha and with that they left.
Heading outside Marius decided to take Elsa along to his most favorite place, what it was Elsa was not sure, but followed him as she was curious to know what this place was and if it was just as amazing as Marius promised it would be.
Arriving Elsa found that Marius favorite place was a manicured park on the outskirts of town and she could see why. It was beautiful and it seemed to be a place for relaxation and gathering of the Underground kingdom, it featured a huge playground for the kids, gazebos for the adults, trails, flower gardens and a large lake and river for fishing or boat ridding.
"See what did I tell you? Isn't this great?" said Marius proudly as they approached the place,
"Its lovely" said Elsa amazed as they walked over,
"Its better in winter, right now its so hot I think we can get roasted if we stay out too long" said Marius as he fanned himself using his own hand in an attempt to get a breeze.
Elsa though silently then murmured "I can use my magic",
"Magic? What kind?" asked Marius as he managed to hear what she said,
"Ice" said Elsa reluctantly,
"Ice?! Why did you not say so?! Use it! Use it!" Said Marius exited,
"But the people-",
"Will think your a godsen! We have not had snow in ages! Please!" said Marius begging.
Elsa was going to refuse but found herself unable to before sighting "Fine" then moving her hands she let a burst of ice magic out.
It covered the area of the park and gardens with snow and ice, even made snowflakes fall from the sky.
At first people around the park were stunned at the sudden changed but soon celebrated as they ran around to play with the snow in delight.
"What did I tell ya? A godsend" said Marius before yelling as he got hit by a snowball.
Soon kids screamed "Snowball fight!"
Having left the Fateweavers lair Hans went around the Underground Kingdom searching for Elsa as he did people would stare, bow, get out of his way or do all three. When he was young and rather immature he found it funny as never anybody had done that to him, but now older and mature Hans found it slightly irritating as he did not want flattery, even from the few brave ones who would ask or try to talk to him, the overformality was far too much.
As he looked around for Elsa and Marius he noticed how the air got colder and snowflakes fell, "Snow?" though Hans as he followed it and finally arriving at Marius favorite park he saw it had been transformed into a winter wonderland.
"Elsa" though Hans as he emediatly knew who was responsible and was happy, maybe if she gets comfortable using her magic around people in the Underground Kingdom it will lead her to eventually be comfortable to use her magic around her own kingdom free of worry.
Following the trail to the park Hans looked around before he spotted Elsa making a snowman with some kids.
"I figured this was your doing" said Hans with a small smile.
Looking up the kids all gasped in awe while Elsa smiled and said "I figured everybody could use a break from the heat",
"Yes, some don't even know what snow is" said Hans as he pulled on his hood, making sure it did not slip from his head.
"Why must you hide?" asked Elsa as she could not help but notice him doing that, also the use of gloves as she realized he was always wearing them for no apparent reason,
"I have my reasons" said Hans,
"You and your reasons" said Elsa sighting then the next couple of minutes was spent in silence as they watched everybody enjoy themselves on the snow before they moved on to the lake to do some ice skating.
After a while Elsa smirked and asked "Have you ever ice skated before?",
"No, not really" said Hans then regretted his answer as he noticed her turn to him and smirk as wide as a Cheshire cat before saying "I think since you taught me how to dance a bit, it would be fair that I teach you how to ice skate",
"Uh, I just remembered I have someplace else to be" said Hans as he turned to leave.
"Come on! It will be fun" said Elsa as she grabbed on his hand and pulled him over.
"No thank you" began Hans as he tried to get free from her, but Elsa was determined and somehow managed to drag him to the icy lake, once on it Elsa she was quick and used her ice magic to make a pair of ice skates appear on his boots... which she soon learned why he did not want to ice skate.
As soon as those things were on his feet Hans could feel himself loose control of his balance as he felt his legs wobble unsteadily before falling face first to the ground with a solid thud.
"Ow" said Hans as he tried to pick himself up.
Elsa winced and said "Okay... don't worry, lets get you up" helping him up Hans could feel himself loose balace again before falling on his back.
"I think I would rather remain down here, its less painful" said Hans as he did not want to get up from the ground.
"Come on, don't give up, if I taugh Anna then you learning will be a breeze" said Elsa as she held out her hand, giving in Hans picked himself up with Elsas help.
"Okay, baby steps" said Elsa as she took his arm to stabalize him and said "One, two three, move your feet like so"
Watching far away a shadow looked at the fun seen before it seeped to the ground, sneaking from shadow and shadow.
Stealthily it made its way across the happy crowds, blending in before it seeped under the ice unnoticed by anybody, once there it remained still, waiting forits target to fall right unto its grasp.
Still unsteady in his balance but a bit better than he had been before Hans kept a firm grip on Elsa arm as they made they way across the ice.
His grip was rough but she could understand why, he did not want to fall.
"See, its easy" said Elsa hoping that it would help,
"Ya sure... But I will feel a lot better once I get back to firm land" said Hans as he continued to hold unto Elsa.
"Come on, where is your sense of adventure?" teased Elsa,
"It left along with my balance" said Hans then froze when he heard something.
It sounded like a crack, then all of a sudden Elsa tripped, it caused a reaction which made her push him and let him go, as he slid his steps grew unsteady before be fell to the ground on his side.
"Hans! Are you okay?" asked Elsa quickly getting back up on her feet, getting up Hans was going to answer but before he could even answer there was more cracks.
All around him the ice broke into a perfect circle before shattering under his weight, plunging him into the icy cold underwater.
Hans yelled at the cold as he reached up trying to grab unto something, anything that he could use to pull himself up, suddenly he felt a hand grab his then two before he was pulled up from the waters quickly.
Then for a moment Hans tensed as he felt something brush pass his left leg him before he was pulled up.
With all their strength two random people pulled Hans up from the water and helped him walk back to solid land.
Once on solid ground Hans lay down on the ground as he gasped and coughed, trying to catch his breath while everybody fussed about what happened.
"I am fine! I am okay!" said Hans between coughs,
"What happened?" demanded Marius as he looked between Hans and the hole in the ice he fell through.
Sitting back up Hans looked at the hole and though about what he sensed, that strange presence, the cold and darkness before saying "I am not sure".
Calling it a day Hans and Elsa made their way back to his home , no word was said at first as both were upset as the day did not ended how they had wanted it. Hans felt guilty for the accident and Elsa felt guilty for almost drowning Hans.
After a while Hans decided to break the ice and said "You have been quiet, was it something I did?", shaking her head Elsa said "No... its just that... I am sorry for... what happened",
"Don't be, its not your fault, you do not apologize for something you did not do" said Hans softly,
"But it was my fault, I forced you to go ice skating" said Elsa,
"You did not force me to do anything" said Hans "If its anybody's fault its mine for not being careful" after a while they reached his home.
Opening the door Hans let her in before Elsa asked "What was it that Sylvia and Agatha wanted to say?", sighting Hans said "Their worried, rightly so because of what happened to the other Phoenix before me",
"The curse?" asked Elsa,
"Yes and...they do not like the idea of me being with a Solberg" said Hans,
"What's wrong with me being a Solberg?" asked Elsa confused,
"To them a lot..." said Hans before pausing as he knew she would not like this "Your family was one of the families which led the magical genocide",
"What?!" said Elsa shocked, Hans nodded grimly "They did it because they wanted to ensure nobody else had the power to overthrow them...and the way they saw that was to get rid of every magical creature so that they would be the only ones with magic",
"No, its not possible" said Elsa shocked,
"Believe it, but your not alone, other royal families did it for worse reasons and have done worse" said Hans "My father had me in a cage, exposing me to the worst things you can imagine just so he could harvest my tears, he killed his own brother to make sure he would get the crown... at least your parents are good people".
Elsa frowned and looked down, placing a hand on her shoulder Hans said "It is alright, the past is the past and what matters is what you do now...so don't let it get you down" he pressed his lips gently on her head before moving away and asking "What do you feel like having? Personally I would like some good meat but whatever you decide will make me happy".
With a gentle smile Elsa followed, she knew Hans was right and she hoped that in the future she would be able to make up for what her ancestors did.
Another hard day of council meetings and attending the townspeople and Anna was tired, arriving to her room she sat down on her vanity and began to undo her pigtails before a glow caught her eye. Turning she saw it came from her music box, where she had stored Hans soulstone under lock and key.
"That's strange" though Anna as she took out the key she kept with her at all times, unlocked and opened it to reveal some silk and soft fabric, in the center of it was the soulstone, its glow was pulsing, almost like a heart, as she reached she yank her hand away as it was very hot to the touch.
Then all of a sudden when it started it ended, it went back to the same steady bright glow as it was before, no longer was it hot, but for Anna it was troubling as she tried to figure out what it meant.
Hans had said that if the glow dimmed it meant that Hans was sick or wounded, if it remained bright he was okay and if it was broken he would die, but had it ever done that before? What did it mean? Was Hans in danger?
Anna hoped that was not the case as it was back to the same bright glow it always had, maybe it was a mistake or something...right?
To be continued...
Authors note: Well... that could have gone a whole lot worse... but what will Elsa decide? What is the Duke and council planning? I would say but its a huge spoiler... Any way I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Well you will have to wait and see...so please leave a review to tell me what you think and stay tuned for the next one.